Sunday, July 12, 2026, St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church hosted its annual diocesan “All Are Welcome” Mass. Located in the heart of Hillcrest—San Diego’s historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood—the liturgy was timed to coincide with the launch of the city’s local Pride Week festivities.
The traditional sacred architecture of the church stood in vivid contrast to an extensive array of LGBTQ symbols. The interior was heavily festooned with rainbow and “Progress Pride” decorations. Brightly colored banners hung directly from the church’s marble columns, while a large flag bearing the words “Every One Is Welcome” was draped over the choir loft’s balcony. Toward the front, several rows of pews were reserved for regional parish “LGBTQ ministries,” each with rainbow ribbons. In the sanctuary, the visual theme extended to large rainbow flower bouquets and ribbon adornments surrounding the altar. Candles flanking the tabernacle were fitted with collars matching the colors of the pride flag, and a rainbow ribbon was tied to the parish poor box.
Representatives from several Catholic communities across the region marched down the center aisle carrying their respective parish LGBTQ ministry banners. These included St. John the Evangelist, St.Francis of Assisi (Vista), St. Thomas More (Oceanside), St. Brigid (Pacific Beach), St. Catherine Laboure (Clairemont Mesa), and Our Lady of Guadalupe, a Jesuit-staffed parish in Barrio Logan. A delegation from the Diocese of San Bernardino participated.
Following the laity, deacons and priests processed to the song, “All Are Welcome.” Some clerics wore rainbow-patterned stoles over their liturgical vestments. Saint John the Evangelist pastor, Fr. Charles Moat, served as the main celebrant. He was joined at the altar by concelebrants Fr. Brad Mills, S.J., Fr. Peter Navarra (St. Joseph Cathedral), Fr. Brian Hayes (St. Catherine Laboure), Fr. Mike White (University of San Diego), and Fr. Larry Johnson, alongside Deacons Robert Booth, Jim Keeley, and Chris Hulburt.
Before beginning Mass, Father Moat read a message from San Diego Bishop Michael Pham: “Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may the peace and grace of our Lord be with you. While I cannot be with you today, I wish to send you all an open invitation to encounter Christ and participate in the life of the Church.” Bishop Pham went on to say that every Catholic is called to conversion, prayer, and discipleship. Emphasizing that the Church has historically welcomed individuals from every background, he expressed his hope that the “All Are Welcome” Mass reflects that mission, and that “we continue to engage one another with mutual respect.”
The slated responsorial psalm for the day (Psalm 65) was replaced with Psalm 139, with the congregation singing the refrain, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Father Brad Mills, S.J. director of the Puentes LGBTQ ministry at Our Lady of Guadalupe, delivered the homily. Describing the invitation to preach as one of the greatest privileges of his priesthood, Fr. Mills framed God’s grace as a seed scattered boundlessly by a sower who is “not stingy in how grace and love is shared.”
Fr. Mills directly applied the imagery of the soil to the LGBTQ community and their families, addressing those who feel marginalized or unworthy within the Church. He proposed that unique aspects of the LGBTQ experience inherently enrich the “soil of the heart, learning to be authentic and naming one’s authentic story.”
Reflecting on the pain of exclusion, he noted that experiencing rejection but moving through it with love ultimately expands a person’s “heart capacity,” drawing a parallel to the rejection experienced by Jesus. He invited the congregation to contemplate how their personal journeys had cultivated their faith.
Before the final dismissal, Fr. Moat delivered a specialized blessing, praying for a Church that responds to the Spirit’s call to love all, and asking for the healing of wounds, protection from harm, and the continued growth of LGBTQ ministries.
A guest speaker took the microphone to invite all pew-sitters to march as a group in the upcoming San Diego Pride Parade on Saturday, July 18.
From Mass Resistance
Some bishops and priests are leading some Catholics to hell.
LGBTQ insanity is a litmus test. If a parish is LGBTQ affirming, it’s not really Catholic. If a bishop or priest is LGBTQ affirming, he’s a rainbow wolf in shepherd’s clothing. If you see the rainbow colors or flags associated with any parish or ministerial LGBTQ outreach, you are in the presence of wayward Catholics.
The clincher will be when Leo reveals his true colors. Will they be rainbow or not?
All sins are welcome in the Church. Wanting reverent and pious Masses can get you excommunicated.
She’s dead, Jim.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass must never be abused. The Vatican should forbid these terrible Masses, “celebrating” and “honoring” homosexuals. God Alone must be praised and worshipped. There is no “exclusion” in Christ. All Christians are called to practice Chastity. Christ’s holy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, can help with this. Homosexuals should be taught to turn to Our Blessed Mother for help, guidance and strength to follow Christ, her Son. Otherwise, their salvation may be lost.
ALL are Welcome …… Welcome to REPENTENCE.
“Unless YOU repent, you will likewise PERISH.” Spoken by the founder of the organization hosting this so-called “celebration.”
You don’t even have to be gay to be called to repentence. It’s called The Good News.
I guarantee the bishop and priests named in this article have homosexual tendencies. There’s no explanation for these ordained men to solicit the endorsement from the Alphabet Cult other than they completely identify with them.
Why are the SSPX members scorned and disdained, and this farcical group praised and esteemed, and never called to reject their impulses and become holy?
One unrepentant, dissolute community desperately seeks approval of the Church and gets it, and another group created to keep Catholic traditions sacred is excommunicated. The smirk on Cardinal “The Libidinous Excommunicator” Fernandez’s face says all we need to know.
I wish your comment could be made to fit on a T-shirt.
Any mention of chastity, which is for all, straight or gay?
Ah, I see in the pic that the San Diego Catholics have their own Westboro Baptist contingent. You might be right, but your methods don’t change anyone.
“Ah, I see in the pic that the San Diego Catholics have their own Westboro Baptist contingent. You might be right, but your methods don’t change anyone.” I guess this comment is a reaction to the picture heading this article by a possibly enthusiastic member of LGBTQ+ . Only a very enthusiastic member would be so blind and ignorant so as to equate a few faithful Catholics holding signs with the outrageous Westboro gang and the dreadful things they did. By declaring all opposition to homosexuality such as these here as hate-flled, the LGBTQ member justifies sinful behavior by projecting their hate onto their opponents and in so doing avoids all circumspection and profitable soul-searching. It may be true that in the short run holding signs does not make a dent in the LGBTQ juggernaught, but the long run may be different, when the soul, so blinded by the need for self-justfication, slowly surrenders to the truth.
That sodomy sign might as well say “God hates f**s”. That’s what it means.
There are still little spheres of pure sulfur embedded in the soil around Sodom to this very day. Dig ’em out & light them on fire. You will find that they burn incredibly hot. Just empirical statements.
San Diego is lost as long as the current bishop is in charge. But guess what? Orange and Los Angeles will soon get new bishops. Leo is going to appoint progressive LGBTQIA+ bishops to those dioceses too, and then All Are Welcome Masses will be celebrated in those dioceses too with the bishops’ blessing. Pride month June 2027 will be quite a summer in Southern California.
More California madness! Sister Lucia of Fatima said more people go to Hell for sins of the flesh than any other sin. Why on earth would a Catholic Church have anything to do with pride parades? Like I said, sheer madness. Convert and repent. Our Lady of Fatima pray for us.
The sin of Sodom was a lack of hospitality. Biblical scholars have proven that. Fr. James Martin talks about how that passage is used as a clobber passage against gays but Christians misinterpret the story completely. The sin was in not showing hospitality to strangers, which was a sacred duty in biblical days. It’s not about gays. The Sodom people didn’t welcome the stranger but all should be welcome like the song says and what the Mass was about.
Sin of Sodom: too much “hospitality” as it were. Bring the strangers outside – we want to have ” relations” with them.
Nice try! not. It is quite clear that the men of Sodom wanted to sodomize Lot’s guests, and to their everlasting sorry they found out the guests were angels who destroyed the whole city. for, of course, their horrific lack of hospitality and widespread perversion. I would call trying to rape someone’s guests horrifically Inhospitable. Futhermore, that kind of behavior is bodily destroying. You cannot continually do that to someone’s body and not contribute to them getting certain cancers and injuries of that area, besides STD’s. That is not loving them but selfishly lustful.
Can you please cite your sources? I would like to go and check them out and see if they still have honest merit when critical thinking is applied to them.
Well, no. No matter how you or Fr. James Martin wish to minimize it, the sins of Sodom were foremost about the Sodomite men desiring sex with two angels disguised as men. It was after that encounter that the angels advised Lot to flee with his family because the city would be destroyed. The lesser sin was that of inhospitality.
“Biblical scholars have proven that.” Biblical scholars are people trained in the semetic laguages of the time and study the meaning of words and phrases based on the comparison of various uses of them as they appear in ancient texts. One thing they do not do is read into the text modern assumptions about what is right and what is wrong. Rather, they attempt to think as far as possible like the ancient people they are studying. That said, I would welcome an honest Biblical exposition of relevant passages related to this issue, absent modern interjections of what people now living want the text to say.
According to studies done by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice on Catholic clerical sex abuse, 81% of the victims were males, and 78% of the victims were postpubescent males. What does this report tell us? We have too many homosexuals in the priesthood. That is the plain truth. The Vatican has previously stated that men with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies,” and those who “support gay culture,” should be banned from entering the priesthood. The Vatican has lots of excellent documents and books on religion and morality. But the post-Conciliar Church no longer believes in actually teaching, upholding and enforcing Catholic beliefs and Christian Morality. Worthless. They are a very phony hypocrisy, with extremely immature clerical leadership. A Church with a paper blueprint only, and very little practice of Christ’s true religion. In the year 2033, the Catholic Church plans to celebrate 2,033 years since the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ– Who died for our sins, out of love for us. When are they going to actually start believing in Him, and to faithfully follow Him??
“San Diego diocese jumps into gay pride fest with both feet” should read: ” San Diego diocese steps in it.”
👍💯
This gay celebration was inappropriate, as were the signs in the photo.
Those signs aren’t likely to persuade anyone struggling with same-sex attraction.
When Jesus said, “Go and sin no more,” He said it privately. He didn’t hold up a sign. (John 8:9-11)
Those of us who clearly understand the gravity of sexual sin are not immune from the temptation to self-righteousness. I cannot judge the hearts of anyone. Yet, there are more loving and effective ways to reach the lost and their families than both a “pride” celebration and waving around signs about another person’s sins.